Roaming Lady

"Roaming Lady" (1936) stars Fay Wray, Ralph Bellamy, Edward Gargan, Thurston Hall, Paul Guilfoyle, Tetsu Komai, Roger Imhof and others in a story about a flight instructor and his continual romantic conflicts with his...well, with Fay Wray...not yet his fiancé, though she would certainly like to think she is! Her father, Thurston Hall, is an exceedingly wealthy oil magnate who tries to dissuade the attachment, and he fosters a plan whereby Bellamy is sent to Shanghai. Meanwhile, Wray, wielding an impetuous lioness of a temperament, sneaks on the ship Bellamy's on to get him to his destination where he and his partner are to pilot planes to try to help destroy General Fang's guerilla war-lord force that's trying to take over that part of China. Every plan of every man - lover, friend or foe - goes awry due to the interference and ferocity of temperament and downright intrepidity of Wray. Though there are some serious parts to the film, even one death (until the end where a brave escape shows many deaths), this is a romantic hustle and tussle between Wray and Bellamy that is loads of fun to watch. I had a smile on my face nearly from beginning to end. The only disappointing feature of the film is a lack of one scream from Wray. My interpretation of Wray is psychologically rooted in "King Kong" and the screams of Wray. She shows in this film, however, she's a marvelous farceur-ess. Bellamy? Well, he's just swellaby. Ed Gargan and Thurston Hall acquit themselves quite well here, as do Guilfoyle and Komai as well. Maybe it's totally forgotten, but this is quite a good intermission between dinner and bedtime.